We also understand there was a 30ft version??
anyone got any more info???

Yes says Peter of 'Viking Lady' again, The designer of the
B 30 was John Sharp.

As it happens a set
of moulds and a completed hull are for sale in Plymouth at the moment
(July 2008) £12,500, seems good value?

They were built by Barbican Yachts, Plymouth
and later by Armada Plastics Cornwall. The moulds were based on the Halmatic
30 hull but not the coachroof, that shape is different in window shape at
least.

Barbican 33s

Barbican 33
from the original brochure... anyone got a complete one we can
reproduce? Yes says Brian, hopefully he will soon send it in so we can
reproduce it here. Bob has beaten you to it Brian, unless your one is
different of course, it may well be as you have a colour pic on the front of
yours... I hope to separate some more of these designs out
onto their own pages as time goes on and we get more and more. As we
have a few Barbicans now, this will soon be on top of the list of jobs!

The hull was used previously for that 'Black Pig' copy
by Phillips of Dartmouth. See further down the page for the Atlantic
clippers. This hull design and mould is still around somewhere,
anyone else seen it for sale recently.

Maurice did not approve of what Phillips did
to his centreplate , they dropped the 'L' shaped 'safe' design. As a
result you will not find the Barbican mentioned by MG in his writings
anywhere, he did approve of the bilge keel version and would have approved
of what builders did subsequently. So many had reported
problems with the plate, that in later years the sensible decision was
made by the builder to do away with it! Many owners have copied
this, the sensible ones! Sad to say recently one owner has gone to
great lengths to replace his plate and wrote it up for PBO. He ignored
the advice of the PBO experts and of other owners and replaced it with a
galvanised plate with stainless fittings, a real recipe for corrosion.
Who is this man? The man who claims to run the old eoa! Sad he
would not ask for advice, it's free.

John

You are spot on with your description of the centre board. Because of this
concern about the plate dropping if the cable snapped, ours is designed in
an L shape with a welded piece fastened onto the top of the plate.
The plate casing comes right up into the saloon and up to the top of the
saloon table. It has a cover which is easily hinged up to reveal the haul up
cable attachment. The L attachment prevents the plate dropping too far
(about 45 degrees max) and it can be easily reattached from inside the
saloon.
It is the centre board pivot bolt which is causing problems as it is under
water and is inside a pair of fibreglass tubes running from the centre
board casing to the outside of the hull. I think it must have a crack as it
started letting in water and came very close to sinking the boat just after
Easter. Scary! It was sealed up with goo and is awaiting a major inspection
next winter. There might be a similar arrangement on other MG boats? I would
be interested to compare notes.

Justin

We are indebted to Bob in
Holland for the scans of the Barbican leaflet here. Bob is the
proud new owner of the Barbican 'Zeegenoot'
below.

'Zeegenoot' Bob's new acquisition. She looks well
cared for Bob. She is a bilge keeler and sails in Zeeland waters.

After a total motor failure Bob has organised
a new motor and is fitting it ready for next season, when he hopes to sail
over to see us! Look forward to it Bob.

Bob has just contacted us with pictures and
details of the new motor, he has chosen a Yanmar 3 cylinder 30 hp .
She is fitted with a 3 blade 16" prop on a new 25mm stainless shaft.
speed now 6 knots at 2800 revs. Neat installation bob!

'Viking Lady'
A Barbican 33.The new owners, registered with us, Ray and Peter sailed
her back to the River Exe, her new home, from Northumberland. Is there
a log for the Newsletter there!?

These pics are of her when she was for sale in
Northumberland. She is one of the bilge keel versions of the Barbican,
there could not have been many made. Maurice preferred this design, as the
'L' shaped centreboard he designed was not fitted to the other version.
The boat builders found it restricted their accommodation.

The Barbican 33 is based
on the earlier Maurice Griffiths designed "Atlantic Clipper" hull, but with
a much more traditional and attractive coachroof. They were first built in
1979, and were semi-custom built by Barbican Yachts of Plymouth to a high
standard. (Maurice did not design the upper-works on the Atlantic
clipper, just the hull.)

The hull and deck are GRP. The full length ballast keel has a keel hung
rudder and twin steel bilge plates, which allows drying out. Whilst
Barbicans are certainly not racing machines, they are not slow. They have a
good record of long-distance cruising, and for quality construction. The
interior fit-out is, as might be expected, with solid deck fittings,
designed for safety and comfort at sea, as well as when moored.

The last pic to the left was sent in by
Karen who was bird watching in September 07 and caught Viking Lady
making good headway in a full gale! Powerful craft you have there!

'Ellen Grace' another
Barbican?. Who owns her? What length? News just in, July 08 from Peter
of 'Viking Lady'. She is a Barbican 35 designed not by MG, but by
Holman and Pye.

We will leave her on
the pages so all know in future. Peter says she is actually moored a few
miles away from his home, in Watchet Harbour!

November 2011. Update.

I saw the photo of Ellen Grace and the accompanying script from which I
gather that more information about her is needed!

I bought Ellen Grace in the Spring of 2009. She was indeed berthed at
Watchet at the time. In July that year I sailed her to my home port of
Waldringfield on the river Deben in Suffolk. For the past two Winters I
have been working on her very hard, to bring her to my requirements.
I still have much to do, but she is "getting there"!

As to her provenance, she is, as you say, designed by "Holman and Pye".
However, I think she is a very typical "Kim Holman" design. The hull
was originally designed in the very early `70s by Kim Holman, with a ketch
rig. This was a composite boat, with wooden coach roof on fibreglass hull
and decks. This design was called the "Super Sovereign 35" and was built by
Upham`s Yard in Brixham, (at the time, Kim Holman`s brother was running the
yard I believe). Kim lived and worked from Maldon, but was originally from
the West Country.
Then Kim Holman designed a new taller rig for the boat as a sloop, on the
same hull, and this is the Barbican 35. Unlike the composite Super
Sovereign 35, the whole boat is made of fibreglass.
She is an excellent very powerful sea boat, and lives up to the
typical East Coast description of Kim Holman: "He never designed an ugly
boat, nor yet one that did`nt goo!"

John we are greatly indebted to you for supplying this information, a fine
boat indeed!

John

'Red Dawn IV' 33ft Owned by
Rodney and Elizabeth Leaper. Still involved with the other lot,
shame really. A Barbican centre boarder. Snapped
sailing in company with the EOG on it's way to the Southend Air Show May
2005.

She has a very nice hull line and nicer behind!
You will not find the centreboard version mentioned in any writings by MG.
He told me he was upset they changed his 'L' shaped centreboard to one
that could fall through and cause problems.. Trouble is the case for the MG
version got in the way inside for the builders... Can understand MG's
annoyance though. The Bilge keeler is slightly more sedate, but MG liked
that one!

The owner of this boat
published an article in PBO, describing how, against all advice, he replaced
the mild steel pin with a more exotic material, sadly this will corrode
twice as fast. Read the article below about replacing pins!

'Shumara' Barbican 33 with centreboard. Just been
purchased by Brian, who has now joined us. He says the only mods will
be hull and deck treatment and rigging renewal. Look forward to the
gleaming new paint, and new pics soon! Maybe the centre board will come out
later!

These pics courtesy of the previous owner.
what a smart looking vessel! A credit to you sir!

'Tide Time' Peter who owned her is now resident in France.

June 2011. Peter has just contacted us to
inform us he has part exchanged her for a Beneteau in the Med and that she
is now up for sale there. We hope the new owner comes forward
soon. good sailing Peter.

'Siffleur' A Barbican 33 but in reality she was moulded
by Phillip and sons and was one of three that were not fitted with the top
moulding, but fitted out by the purchased, Bob Whistler. A centreboard version, (It appears that Phillips and Sons were responsible for altering
MG's L shaped keel). With only an outboard Bob sailed her all around
the south coast of the UK and to France. Sold on she had a motor
fitted. a BMC 30hp. Sold on a couple of times the current owner
found her in the UK and shipped her across the pond...

She is now in America, sailing from San
Francisco after her current owner Philip, shipped her there in 1996,
purchasing her in Levington Suffolk. With winds in the area frequently
between 15 and 30 knots he says he has not sailed a more sea kindly boat.
I can believe that. Nice looking boat!

This long keel Barbican 33, as opposed to
bilge keel or centreboarder, was spotted for sale on the web, October
2008, by John Stevens.

I have been told also that the 'long keel'
simply relates to the centreboard version without the board. Good
option I should think, but I also wondered if this version was any 'deeper'
in the keel? Anyone know? Yes we have heard from an owner. The long keel has exactly the same length and depth keel as the others, but no centre board, nor bilge keels.
Sails as fast with no hassle!

The boat is 'Noss Packet', and is also for sale on our 'For Sale' Page! What a great picture of a great boat!

'Hasimara' John Eastwood's Barbican 33, off the Isle of Wight. She also a long keel without centreboard. She is berthed on the river Vilaine. Seen here at La Crouesty, cruising South Brittany. Welcome to
the EOG John. See the Barbican 'Tide Time' above, another boat based
in France....

'Hasimara'
in La Crouesty, at the entrance to the Golfe du Morbihan.

'Cinabbar'
, belonging to Mike & Sue Parry-Evans... currently for sale.
Get the name, I didn't, it's an anagram, very clever! Our thanks
to John Eastwood, owner of the Barican 33 'Hasimara'for
more information and photos.

These two Barbicans 'Cinabbar'
and 'Seawitch' owned by Mike Barclay, in the Auray River, Golfe
du Morbihan, in summer 2006. The latter was previously called 'Patra of Wight'
and was originally White with a green sheer strake. Again thanks to John
Eastwood. I like the wheelhouse!

'Sea Witch'
in the Odet river near Benodet.

'Nomad' (
she has the taller mast), is owned by Richard & Sheila Butler, and is moored in
Brixham, here she was in Port Louis, opposite Lorient, 2006.

'Awake of Parkstone' This boat is for sale, May 2009, see the For Sale page.

Barbican called 'Last Barbican'
is or was it the last one?

Keith Worsell is the owner, January 2011.

She is the long keel version, the builder not
fitting that troublesome centre plate that caused MG concern.

John spotted this Barbican on his 'Fiddling
Around' trip, in Scarborough 2013.

This at present un named
Barbican, ex 'Diane II', shown here in Haslar Marina whilst enroute from
Cornwall to Essex April 2011, in the hands of new owners Nigel and Heidi.
We are going to see more of this boat. She has the centreboard and the
owners are well aware of the possible problems, so will be interesting to hear
how she performs with and without it.

Seen here showing her MG pedigree!

Outside the cockpit is beautifully crafted in Teak

Inside more Teak, but nicely varnished with loads of locker space and a book
shelf for that copy of the 'Magic'!

Nigel, Heidi was hiding! Very pleased with
his boat. Not sure how the centreboard is going to help as Nigel admits to
forgetting to use it. Now I hear it is stuck in the up position..
wonder if it will stay there? We are still waiting for a decision on the
name....

October 2011 and a chance encounter at Heybridge
basin lock.

See the name has still not changed then!
Nor apparently will it!

April 2014 and Diane II is ready to put back in
the water!

With one of the biggest cranes I have seen
launching our boats! Nigel said it looked very small up there!

Barbican
'Avalon'. Found in Mariners Farm
yard in Kent this spring, 2010, when collecting the WildDuck Tarka.

The owners said they had done away with their
centreboard after problems and fitted a bow thruster for extra manoeuvrability.
The result was the perfect solution!

I have always liked the transoms on this design,
not hard to see why! This could be my 'Dream Ship'

A plea for help!
Can any one help, please mail Gary.

I need to know if the centreboard, on
the Barbican 33, is slotted to fit over the pin or does the pin pass through a
hole in the board? On most centre boarders, the board has a slot to slide over
the pin, so as to make for easy removal.

I need to remove the board, on my
Barbican 33, when she comes out of the water.

Barbican 33 'Rose Emma'

Gary Griffin sologg at btinternet.com

As
far as I am aware the pin passed through a hole and the pin has to be removed
before the plate can be removed too. Avoid dissimilar metals if renewing or are
you removing plate and filling in the gap, many have. One I saw, 'Avalon',
also fitted a small bow thruster to assist in tight corners, said it worked a
treat and they were pleased to do away with the troublesome board!

John

October 2011

'Eileen Naomi' A Barbican with a difference! This boat has
Maurice's proper design of Centreplate! The hull and mouldings were
finished off by the owner, to the original drawings! The 'L' shaped plate
than cannot fall out! Justin has enclosed a few pictures that may help others.

2 photos as promised. very similar,
choose whichever is best. they should show clearly the shape of the welded bars.
The pictures are looking down into the casing and you can see the top of the
centre board itself at the bottom of the casing, which is horizontal and in the
up position.

Your question about the tube. Yes,
there is one each side normally buried under loads of folded lead sheet.

To give you some idea about the
size:

width of casing 11 cms

depth of casing to top of centre
board 88 cms

inside length of casing 73 cms

depth of water from top of casing
20 cms when afloat

outside dimensions of triangle with
welded bars 85 x 45 x 68cms

(68 cms is the vertical length).

I could write a short article if you would like.
Hopefully these pictures gives you an idea of how it is. You can see the top of
the L in the pictures. The centre board was taken out a few years ago for
replacement of the pivot bolt (made from mild steel, not stainless) and
de-rusting and painting.

The access holes for the bolt on the hull are fibreglassed up as a precaution
against water ingress in the bolt tube. (boat almost sunk when a crack developed
on the tube).

Centre board goes down at a max angle of 45 degrees
before the top of the L hits the end of the saloon box (see photo with board in
down position) . I use an old motorcycle tyre section jammed in to cushion the
top of the L where it hits the saloon box (See picture "centre board cable"
where you can see attachment to L and nobbles on tyre).

When fully raised the board disappears completely
inside the hull. In raised position the top of L is very close to the pull up
pulley on the photos. Pull up wire (note- needs to be replaced) goes straight up
onto deck and is led into cockpit via a pulley.( It is very heavy!)

Centreboard is brilliant to give early warning of shallow water. Used on many
occasions!

Justin

And here is Justin's article, thought this the best
place to print it!

This is the story of my yacht, a Maurice Griffiths
designed ketch called Eilean Naomi, which has a hull which was used in the
Atlantic Clipper and Barbican designs. The history of this boat is interesting
as it was purchased about 1970 as an empty fibreglass hull from a boat yard in
Dartmouth and was towed up to Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales behind a Land Rover.
The boat is 33ft long with a very solid galvanised steel bowsprit and a drop
down centre board .

The history of the building of the hull is that the
Golden Hind was being built in 1968 by Hartwells of Plymouth, who commissioned
Maurice Griffiths to design a bigger version. Maurice Griffiths did the design,
but Hartwells then went out of business, and Phillips on the River Dart at
Kingswear took up the design, and radically changed the superstructure to
produce the Atlantic Clipper. The Atlantic Clipper, was being built at the
Phillips yard in 1975 with a rather strange superstructure and a poop deck.

When the Hartwell team split up, having produced
hundreds of Eventides and the early Golden Hind 27 and 28 versions, one of the
team moved to Plymouth. Terry Erskine Yachts, as he called himself, producing
the Golden Hind for many years, 31ft at first and later a smaller 26ft, which
was a copy of the Eventide 26. He also produced the Barbican yacht.

Maurice Griffiths did not design the structure of
either the Barbican or the Atlantic Clipper (he would not have wanted to be
associated with either!), but the Barbican was more like the boat he wished to
develop,

Some loose hulls were built, which remained as
Maurice Griffiths had designed, and were sold for home or local boatyard
completion. One of these was used for Eilean Naomi and was fitted out in Hawes,
to be more or less like the original Maurice Griffiths yacht design. It is a bit
of a cross between the Barbican and the Atlantic Clipper and is a ketch with a
rear cockpit, centreboard, and bowsprit.

One of Maurice Griffiths trade marks when it came
to centre plate design, was that the plate often had a 'stop' shape built into
it to prevent it dropping right down, with a means of accessing the lift gear in
the event of a broken wire. He would design the casing to be lost inside the
boat, as part of a bulkhead or table. This is exactly how Eilean Naomi is now.
See pictures of the saloon with the lift up lid over the top of the centre board
access.

Because of this concern about the centre board
dropping if the cable snapped, my centre board is designed in an A shape with
steel bars welded onto the top of the board. The board casing comes right up
into the saloon and up to the top of the saloon table. It has a cover which can
hinge up to reveal the haul up cable attachment. The welded steel bars prevent
the plate dropping too far before the top of the welded bars hits the end of the
saloon box (about 45 degrees maximum). The cable can easily be reattached from
inside the saloon if the cable breaks. I use an old motorcycle tyre section
jammed in to cushion the top of the welded bars where it hits the saloon box
(See picture "centre board cable") where you can see attachment to the welded
piece and the nobbles on the tyre). When fully raised the board disappears
completely inside the hull, with the top of the welded piece very close to the
pull up pulley. The pull up wire goes straight up onto the deck and is led into
the cockpit via a 3:1 pulley. (It is very heavy!)

The centre board pivot bolt can cause problems as
it is under water, but inside a pair of fibreglass tubes running from the
centre board casing to the outside of the hull. See picture of one of these
tubes on the starboard side.

The top of the centre board steel welded bars can
be seen in the pictures. The centre board was taken out about ten years ago for
replacement of the mild steel pivot bolt and derusting and painting of the
centre board.

The best material for the pivot bolt is mild steel
which rusts at a predictable slow rate. The bolt has been changed twice in 30
years as far as I am aware. Stainless steel could corrode faster than mild steel
will rust. There may be exotic materials like titanium that could be used, but
they would not be cheap.

There may be advantages fitting a suitable anode on
the plate itself if a thin enough one could be found. This would avoid galvanic
corrosion between the centre board and its bolt, and any other different metals
elsewhere (on shore or on other boats).

The access holes for the pivot bolt on the outside
of the hull were sealed up with sealant originally. They are now fibre glassed
over as a precaution against water ingress in the bolt tube.

One year I tried to loosen the nut on the pivot
bolt when the boat was out for the winter. I did not succeed, despite a two
metre lever on the box spanner. My efforts cracked the fibreglass tube, and it
started letting in water after launching, and came very close to sinking the
boat.

The centre board is brilliant to give early warning
of shallow water and has been used on many occasions!

I was told the story of Eilean Naomi tacking up
narrow Scottish sounds with shallow banks on each side. The signal when to tack
was when the centre board hit the mud and you could see the pull up cable moving
on deck.

Care is needed to close the centre board cover in
the saloon during the winter lay over. I had several generations of mice who had
a lovely time in the bilges and lockers living off last seasonís food left on
the boat.

The centre board started to become floppy on its
bolt last year, and was thumping gently on the centre board case. The solution
is to have a securing catch to hold the centre board firmly in the UP position
when the boat is resting.

My thanks to John Williams for his assistance in
the preparation of this article particularly with the historical side.
Justin

2014 and being launched, centreboard just
visible!

Barbican 'Sivota'
found on Harbour Yachts web site for sale,
looks a well cared for boat..

The bilge keel Barbican, 'Santana',
seen sailing here in May 2014 with owner and member Bill on the helm.
Bill was a GH owner for many years you may have seen his beautiful 'Francis
Fletcher' on the east coast. Picture by Steering Group member Nigel, from his
Barbican!. Bill is extremely pleased with the performance of his Barbican,
even with the sometimes sneered at bilge keels.! Maurice regarded this
design as a good one, he did not like what the builder did to his safe
centreboard. As a result the barbican is not mentioned in his writings.

Shame, I think it a great looking boat and
blocking up the plate is not difficult! Were I to buy one it would have to
be the bilge keeler, all those special drying harbours and creeks it open up!

Footnote. Message from Bill, he has really
enjoyed the Barbican with it's bilge keels, reckons its faster than his GH31 but
of course a bit more tender. Easier to manoeuvre in tight spots but of
course not as steady on the helm at sea. Seems he has tested it well, 11
trips to the Netherlands in the last 7 years!

Trying to get to an EOG event soon!

and a PS. You'll be pleased to know hats are
always still doffed and ensign dipped at Bench Head!

'Passer-by'
Spotted in Leavington May/June 2014 by Nigel and Heidi who were in there
in their Barbican. Can the proud owner step forward!

'Passer-by' The owner, Andy has just joined us. Love the
colour and the self tacking staysail and cutter rig. Resident
Leavington now and cruises east coast and Channel.

Atlantic Clippers

Advert from 1974, look at the price!

The owner of 'Siffleur'
reckons there were 54 Clippers made and another 3 sold as bare
hulls, including 'Siffleur', not a bad total.

'Solest' An Atlantic clipper built by Phillip and
Sons of Dartmouth and based on a hull by MG. Not too sure about that
stern cabin?? I know M.G. had doubts. But hey, it was OK for the
'Black Pig', so why not! This boat was spotted on E-Bay April 05, I
have left a message on the owners telephone....

The hull design went on to be the basis of
the Barbican, but M.G. was not too pleased when the centreboard was altered
to a wire pennant, not his 'L' shaped board.

There is a lot of TLC needed, but it could
look a character boat if someone cared...

November 2007, update.. Olly has just been in touch, she was purchased
by his late father and now he is trying to sell her, could be on our pages
in the near future. If you have a lot of energy and pennies to spare
she could make a good solid cruising boat, with a difference! I
would love to see her painted with fake gun ports and a parrot on the stern!

Feb 08 update, Olly has sold her via our
pages...

Another Atlantic Clipper, hard to realise it
has the same hull as the Barbican! They all had centreboards I believe.

Out of the ether comes a mail from the owner,
Tony Jackson!

We now have a name for her, 'IT' Sounds a little odd, but I hope Tony will
tell us more. We believe she sails the west coast of Scotland.
Another boat for a Skye Meet?

'IT' sports a slightly different wheelhouse now,
looks good too.

An Atlantic Clipper, nice hull, still not sure about
that aft cabin! Another found by J. S. on the web, this time in
Holland.

Another Atlantic Clipper, this one for sale
in Plymouth, October 2007.

This Atlantic Clipper was sent to us by Hoo
Marina in Kent, she was up for sale there, January 07. Now no longer listed,
sold maybe? Yes and here is David the new owner!

Hi John, The last clipper on the site is 'Louan' from a couple of years ago when she was for sale by the previous owner, I attach an up to date photo, (left!) but will provide a better one when we get her sailing again in a couple of weeks. Regards, David

'Louan' afloat and with her new Beta 35 motor
installed. Home port Ramsgate, any other Atlantic Clippers owners out
there like to get in touch?

Sailing well and with a clean wake no doubt.
Like the teak grating on top of the bowsprit/cathead!

2013 'Louan'
sailed with reefs in and a bone in her
teeth!

Atlantic Clipper
'Night Cap'. Christopher has just joined us, September
2010, and sent these 4 pics in.

This is Norway!
Chris sails here here. His father bought the boat in 1983 and she is
kept near Oslo. Looks like all the family enjoy her!

The former owner
was a chap called Lutken, who sailed her to Norway from the UK.

You have to say
the scenery and surroundings are a bit different to our muddy creeks!

Hello, I have an Atlantic Clipper which I keep at Hythe near Southampton.

I
would love to get in contact with other owners with a view to fitting an
effective wind vane.

Can
you help?

Mark

mark.p.symons at exxonmobil.com

Atlantic Clipper,
'Wilhelm Gruff' a very nicely turned out version of the
design!

I have to admit
that the stern cabin is growing on me! this one looks quite luxurious!

Tip from Mark....

Yep, the board will stick if pulled all the way up into the box but if
allowed to poke out of the box a little they do not jam. I used to keep the
old girl at Kemps Quay, a mud berth and once I learned this trick it never
jammed again.

'Cossack'an Atlantic Clipper, seen here in the
UK before the owner and member, Giorgio Marsiaj , sails her away to
France and through the canals to Italy and beyond! Very smart boat!

'Existence'.
An Atlantic Clipper owned by Victor
and family, they are preparing it for a major trip in Croatia and have asked
many questions about the stern gear, drop plate, etc., which we are
going to print as a separate page to be accessed from here. Will take
a little while to collate.